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Star rating: Heat rating:

Model Finley needs someone to help her shed her "good girl" persona, so she'll try Eddie on for size.

New York City model Finley is fed up with hearing the same feedback at castings: she needs to take some serious action to wipe the "good girl" stamp from her resume if she wants to launch to stardom.

Enter Eddie Wells. He's shallow, predictable…and just as lost as Finley feels. Deep down, Finley is drawn to Eddie's bravado, his intensity. Except Eddie is hiding something. A big something. And when it surfaces, both loving and leaving Finley will become so much harder.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. I thought it would be superficial fun, but You Before Anyone Else was incredibly deep and thought-provoking, while still maintaining a balance of fun and, well, sexiness.

The story surrounds Eddie and Fin, two 18-year-old models in NYC. Fin is trying to ditch her good girl image, while Eddie is just trying to ditch his life. After meeting at a party, Fin takes Eddie back to her place to experience what a one night stand is like. And here’s where I thought it would be a simple love story where she pushes him away to maintain that idea, but he’s all cocky and charming and works his way into her life through sheer sexual chemistry. NOPE. While she does try to stay away from them, their connection is so much deeper, and while there is definitely sexual chemistry, the relationship itself is a much more organic slow burn that had me pining and not just fanning my face. Also, I don’t want to ruin anything, but PLOT TWISTS ABOUND.

I’m going to start with my only negative before I get to the good bits. I think the one thing I was a little disappointed with was the book’s identity crisis. At the time of reading this, I have just kicked off New Adult August, and the first week has been all about defining New Adult. Personally, I would You Before Anyone Else in the NA range, as it deals with two characters who have left high school and are discovering who they want to be and what they want to do now that they’re out in the real world. They’re 18, they’ve moved out, they have jobs. That’s NA to me, but the book has been shoehorned into YA for marketability. Not only does that frustrate me because it holds NA back from being recognised as a legitimate category, but it also means…fade to black.

Which brings me to the chemistry. YES WOW ALL THE AMAZE. These two were so adorable and sweet and funny and sexy and supportive and PERFECT. It killed me that we got all the teasing and tearing off of each other’s clothing, and then it skipped ahead to the after. UGH. Also, hey, that whole scene where Eddie describes the body parts he loves? Swoon. ALSO CONSENT AND FEMALE EMPOWERMENT AND NO SLUT-SHAMING!!!!!!!!

Backing up, can I just say how much I love these characters as people? Eddie was thoughtful and charming, but also so clearly young and scared. My heart swelled for him over and over. Fin was crazy relatable. She liked to knit and watch movie marathons, thereby making her my kind of girl. She also struggled with wanting to be close to her family while also maybe just possibly pursuing a passion that had been put on hold after a tragedy.

And it doesn’t end with Fin and Eddie. I loved the other characters as well, from Fin’s cool, supportive dad to RJ to Eve. Even Summer surprised me. They could all be real people that I know.

Finally, I want to dedicate a paragraph to something I’ve already touched on here and there: growing up and figuring out what’s best for you. This book brought up a lot of serious issues and dilemmas that I won’t detail for risk of spoiling, but it did it in such a way as to show that there are always choices but not alway one right choice. What’s best for one person won’t necessarily be what another person wants, and that’s OK. What matters is that you figure out what you want, not what your parents want or your friends want or those random strangers who think they have the right to tell you what to do want. You Before Anyone Else lives up to its name, telling the reader to examine their dreams and needs before trying to fit into other people’s expectations. And boy does that mean so much to me right now.

All in all, I loved this book so much, and I think you should definitely put it on your TBR as an incredible YA/NA crossover contemporary.

One response to “#BookReview: YOU BEFORE ANYONE ELSE by Julie Cross & Mark Perini”

Amazing review, Dani! You Before Anyone Else was in my TBR, but I wasn’t particularly excited for it. But I sure will read it now because it seems just like my type of book! Also, yay for female empowerment! 😀

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